110 Chapter 110
◎Modify the law◎
Chongnanfang House.
After Lu Fei coaxed her daughter to sleep, she couldn't fall asleep herself. Five days had passed since the Lantern Festival, and the newspapers published daily had no trace of the event.
She comforted herself that reviewing takes time, printing also takes time, so she should wait a little longer.
Besides, it is impossible for the newspaper to believe my one-sided statement. If it really decides to report this case, it will definitely send someone to investigate it thoroughly.
Given her trust in the imperial court's determination to combat corruption, she did not believe that the newspaper was uninterested in the case. Judging from the newspaper's usual style, it was also impossible for it to be dismissive just because a woman was involved.
No matter what, you have to take a gamble.
She had thought about whether her identity would be exposed and lead to potential fatal disaster.
However, analyzing the newspaper's past reports, this possibility is very small.
Wenhua Hall.
After listening to Yang Yunkai's report, Xie Mingzhuo confirmed the truth of the letter. His second brother had said that the person who submitted the manuscript that day was a woman, and that must be Lü Fei herself.
She was no stranger to Lu Fei. She could never forget the wealthy Shanxi merchant who had caught her eye with 90,000 dan of grain.
Not only did she not forget him, she also asked someone to investigate the other party's background.
In short, Lu Fei was a businessman who was good at business, had good methods and could uphold his conscience. It was really inappropriate for such a person to be defeated by the power of the clan and the greed of officials.
My second brother's newspaper has branches all over the country, and the branch in Shanxi also employs a group of reporters. It would be most appropriate to report this matter in their tone.
The next day, the latest issue of "Beijing Daily" was published.
Lu Fei went to bed late last night and got up late. She took her daughter out for a walk and happened to run into Zhou Sui who lived across the street.
He cupped his hands and said, "Boss Lu has been wronged."
The other neighbors also came forward to comfort her, and some even stuffed vegetables and eggs into her mouth, fearing that she was too poor to afford food.
Lu Fei was touched. After politely declining the offer, he ran to the newsboy at the entrance of the alley and bought a newspaper.
After watching it, I couldn't help but cry with joy.
In the newspaper, a Shanxi reporter exposed the major case of collusion between the government and the clan to seize the Lu family's property. His words were sharp and heartbreaking, which sparked a lot of heated discussion.
In Wenhua Palace, Xie Mingzhuo summoned ministers.
"Have you read today's newspaper?"
Reading newspapers has become a daily pastime for scholars and literati. All government offices subscribe to newspapers from newspaper companies, and the first thing they do when they arrive at the government office is to sit down and drink tea and read the newspaper.
The ministers then knew what the princess was doing.
Minister of Revenue Yuan Guande had learned his lesson and immediately responded, "Princess, after reading the newspaper this morning, I was filled with indignation. This case must be thoroughly investigated and Lü Fei must be given an explanation."
"Teng Shitong, what do you think?" Xie Mingzhuo looked up at him.
After Fang Ji was dismissed, the post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was taken over by another person, who was inferior to Teng Shitong in both experience and qualifications. As Chief Minister Chang often took sick leave due to his "old age and frailty", Teng Shitong became the de facto head of the Ministry of Personnel.
He has not yet joined the cabinet, but he is not far away.
Teng Shitong has always been good at guessing the intentions of his superiors. No matter who this "superior" is, he will put all his energy into trying to satisfy the other party.
With the princess in charge of government, he was not as depressed as other "old-fashioned" people. Instead, because the princess was diligent and pragmatic, he was more motivated to do things.
There are many officials who seek fame and fortune, but the original intention of many people is to serve as officials and benefit the people. In this case, why bother about who sits on the throne?
Those who care about this matter only do so because "party disputes" no longer have any place to play.
Teng Shitong thought it through and replied, "Princess, I believe that an explanation must be given and the root cause of this case must be eradicated."
"Oh?" Xie Mingzhuo leaned forward slightly. "Tell me about it."
"The root of the problem lies in the contradiction between the fairness of the law and the partiality of the patriarchal system. Is the law superior to the patriarchal system, or is the patriarchal system superior to the law?" He said it very pointedly, and the other ministers' expressions changed slightly.
People at that time attached great importance to clans. People without clans were like rootless duckweed, and they could not get protection from their clan when they were bullied.
But at the same time, there are also some people who are trapped by the constraints of the clan. Once the banner of clan law is lowered, few people can bear it, and most of these people are women.
The officials present were all leaders of their clans. They were respected and admired, and they had no empathy for those at the bottom who were oppressed by the clan system.
The law should be fair. Bias is inevitable when dealing with privileged and non-privileged classes, but when it comes to the same class, fairness is achieved without distinction of gender.
However, the relevant laws of the Qi Dynasty were obviously influenced by the patriarchal system. From the perspective of inheritance rights alone, women's rights were far lower than those of men.
Shanxi officials did judge the case according to the law, but they also clearly took advantage of loopholes.
The household regulations in the Qi Dynasty Laws stipulated that if a household lost its property and there was no heir from the same clan, the daughters born to the family would inherit the property. If there were no daughters, the family would be taken into the government.
In other words, if there is no son, one should first see if a male from the same clan can be adopted to inherit the family business. If there is no one to adopt, then the family business can be passed on to a daughter.
Apart from property, titles and military positions have nothing to do with my daughter.
Lu Fei was an only child. Logically, her father should have chosen someone to adopt from the same clan, but he chose to marry into the family.
After marrying into the family, Lü Fei was still not considered an heir recognized by the clan, but her father had a tough attitude and Lü Fei was a capable person. The father and daughter could bring benefits to the clan, so the clan turned a blind eye.
Seeing that a woman like Lu Fei could expand the industry dozens of times, some people would naturally think, "I can do it too," or even "I can do it even better," and thus they would set their sights on the Lu family's industry.
Lu's father has passed away. How can Lu Fei, a woman who is not even on the family tree, fight against the powerful and domineering clan?
The government's decision was indeed based on the law, but there is still human nature beyond the legal principles. Lu Fei worked hard for many years and even contributed his imperial examination quota to the clan, but in the end he only got a few shops that were about to go bankrupt. Anyone with a little empathy would feel that this was unfair.
Why don’t the authorities know how to be “impartial and impartial” when trying other cases involving powerful people?
Minister of Rites Fan Wenxin said slowly, "Minister Teng is wrong. Our dynasty governs the country by rites and laws. Rites and laws, shouldn't rites come before laws?"
"Minister Fan is right." Teng Shitong did not argue with him and continued, "Just considering this matter alone, Madam Lu's experience is worthy of warning."
Xie Mingzhuo remained calm: "There's a lot of heated discussion going on right now. How do you think we should resolve this?"
"I believe the Shanxi County Magistrate has handled the case according to the law without any problems." Fan Wenxin looked at the Minister of Justice, Dai Jiaxian. "Lord Dai, you are well versed in the laws. Do you have any suggestions?"
Dai Jiaxian: "Master Fan, you are too kind. When it comes to etiquette and law, you are the one who is proficient in it. I dare not show off my skills in front of an expert, but..."
"Just what?"
"It's true that there's a custom in criminal law to 'keep the deceased alive to support his family,' so it's reasonable to treat a death row inmate with this kind of compassion. But to treat a woman who once donated 90,000 dan of grain to disaster relief and made countless contributions to the clan so mercilessly and ruthlessly, and to kill her wholeheartedly, isn't that unkind and unjust?"
"Lord Dai, your words are very sincere. If Father Lu had adopted a son from the clan, the Xu family business would have been even more prosperous."
"That's completely unreasonable. It's just empty talk without any evidence. I beg to differ."
Fan Wenxin: "It has been like this since ancient times. Why is Lord Dai so angry?"
"It's been right since ancient times?" Dai Jiaxian, who has a short temper, said coldly, "Our ancient ancestors ate raw meat and drank blood, and only after discovering fire did we have today's prosperous world. There have been many changes throughout the dynasties. Lord Fan is well versed in etiquette and laws, so how could he not know that they are constantly changing?"
"Only by adapting to the changing times can we achieve change. Even if Lord Dai and Minister Teng want to tinker with the law, they can't change the status quo of 'men establishing careers, women guarding the home.'"
Dai Jiaxian: “…”
Indeed, there are very few women like Lu Fei who can "establish a career", and it is not worth changing the law just for her.
Seeing that he had stopped, Fan Wenxin and other conservative people all looked proud.
Xie Mingzhuo remained calm and looked at Wei Zhen, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. "County Minister Wei, you speak."
"Yes." Wei Zhen accepted the order respectfully.
Since he took on the heavy burden of mining tax reform, he was labeled as a "Princess Party". Compared with the smooth-talking Teng Shitong, he was even less liked by the "Emperor Party" and the "Prince Party".
But so what?
The success of the mining tax reform has brought rich fiscal revenue to the national treasury, and this move will surely go down in history.
He didn't care what the outcome of supporting the princess would be.
He pulled a book from his sleeve and said, "I have previously calculated the average wages of men and women in Suzhou and Hangzhou prefectures in Southern Zhili, and have recorded them all. Your Excellencies, please take a look."
"Just read it directly." Xie Mingzhuo had specifically instructed to write this statistical booklet. Suzhou and Hangzhou prefectures had developed textile industries, and female textile workers accounted for a very high proportion.
Except for some special jobs, women can do the same things that men can do, so the average salary data is particularly astonishing.
Wei Zhen flipped open the booklet and said aloud, "In Suzhou Prefecture, the average monthly income for men is 3.85 cents, and for women it's 4.73 cents. In Hangzhou Prefecture, the average monthly income for men is 3.64 cents, and for women it's 4.55 cents."
Ministers: “…”
The data can be falsified, but it cannot withstand scrutiny. Wei Zhen could not be so stupid as to fool his colleagues casually, so what he said was true.
"Minister Fan, did you hear that?" Xie Mingzhuo said slowly. "If what Minister Fan said is true, then in Suzhou and Hangzhou Prefectures, should women establish careers while men take care of the household?"
Fan Wenxin stiffened his neck and said, "This is just a very small number."
"Is it really a very small number?"
"What do you mean, Princess?"
"Minister Fan, how much is your housekeeper's monthly salary?"
"About six strings of cash." Fan Wenxin answered truthfully.
Xie Mingzhuo: "The housekeeper only takes care of some household chores, and he gets six strings of cash a month. It seems that Minister Fan also knows that taking care of household chores is a kind of labor, and his salary is the result of his labor, right?"
"……right."
"By analogy, shouldn't women who do household chores also be taken seriously?"
"How can this be compared?" Fan Wen's eyes widened in shock. "Isn't it a woman's responsibility to take care of household chores after marriage?"
Xie Mingzhuo nodded and smiled, "So it's only natural for a man to marry, establish a career, and support his family. So why should he have such a strong sense of superiority?"
“…”
Fan Wenxin was speechless.
Someone whispered, "We're discussing the Lu family's affairs. Have we strayed off topic?"
"No, I'm not off topic." Xie Mingzhuo suppressed his smile and said seriously, "What is the purpose of everyone here entering the government? To gain high office and generous salary or to leave a name in history?"
Ministers: Of course we all want it.
They dared not speak openly, but only pretended to say, "Supporting the country and fulfilling our duties loyally."
"Well, now we have an opportunity to help the country. Are you willing to fulfill your duties?"
Fan Wenxin's expression changed slightly. "Princess, may I ask, do you want to change the law?"
"Yes," Xie Mingzhuo said firmly. "Changing the law is the general trend of the times. It's the right path to follow the national conditions. I'll give you one day to think carefully about whether you will be a pillar of shame for future generations a hundred years from now, or whether you will be remembered in history and admired by millions."
“…”
Teng Shitong, Dai Jiaxian, Wei Zhen and others naturally supported the princess, but the others did not.
The officials headed by Fan Wenxin went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity immediately after taking their leave and insisted on seeing the emperor.
Xie Changfeng was so annoyed that he had no choice but to summon them and scolded them with a frown: "I have made it very clear before. I want to retreat and practice Taoism. All state affairs should be handled by Rong An. Don't bother me."
"Your Majesty, the princess is disregarding ancestral etiquette and wants to amend the law to give women equal inheritance rights as men. Isn't this simply confusing right and wrong and confusing common sense?!"
Xie Changfeng: “…”
I really want to have him dragged out and beheaded!
"You're complaining to me about such a trivial matter? The Taoist Immortal has already told me that there's no problem leaving the government to Rong An. Yet you're running to me now, saying Rong An is wrong. Do you think I'll wake you up only if I chop off your heads?"
"His Majesty……"
Several people were stunned. Why would His Majesty react like this? Could it be that His Majesty really intended to pass the throne to the princess?
They came to see the emperor not only to discuss the princess's request to amend the law, but more importantly to test the emperor's attitude.
If the emperor objects, it means that the princess can only "regent" and cannot inherit the throne. If the emperor does not object, it means that the emperor has really lost his mind in practicing Taoism and wants to subvert the laws of his ancestors.
Several people immediately knelt on the ground and cried. In the end, they even brought up Emperor Gaozu, but Xie Changfeng remained unmoved.
He exposed their selfishness with one sentence: "Changing the law won't affect you in the slightest. You're just trying to be competitive. Now that you've lost, you're trying to take sides with me? I'm very busy and don't have time to deal with this. Go back."
Several people: "..."
Persuasion failed, so they had to leave in disgrace.
At dinner time, the five of them gathered in the Qianqing Palace.
"Shao Shao, I heard about what happened today. Those old guys didn't get what they deserved. Will they contact other members of the royal family privately to put pressure on us?" Meng Qi asked.
Xie Mingzhuo remained calm and said, "It would be better to contact them privately. The royal family eats and drinks tens of millions of dan of grain every year for free. What can't they do with this grain?"
"In my opinion, even if they don't have such intentions, Tiezhu will probably instigate them to cause trouble. He's just worried about having no excuse to rip off the rich." Xie Mingshuo nudged her elbow. "Am I right, brother?"
Xie Mingzhuo smiled but said nothing.
Until the last moment, these people did not have the courage. The emperor and the two princes were still alive. As long as the emperor did not issue an edict for the princess to succeed to the throne, who would take the risk of rebellion?
It is impossible to eradicate the termites in one fell swoop in a short period of time.
The next day, Fan Wenxin and others seemed to have accepted the reality and agreed to change the law so that women and men would have equal inheritance rights.
Of course, Xie Mingzhuo did not take too big a step. This inheritance right only includes the inheritance of private movable and immovable property, and does not include the inheritance of titles and military positions.
At the same time, women are allowed to set up their own homes.
In addition to changing the inheritance rights, Xie Mingzhuo also proposed abolishing the "divorce" system, changing customs, prohibiting clan lynchings such as drowning in ponds and burning at the stake, and banning "chastity arches."
Fan Wenxin and others couldn't sit still anymore.
"I can understand the ban on clan lynching, but I have a different opinion on abolishing the divorce system and banning chastity arches."
Xie Mingzhuo remained calm: "Please speak."
"The divorce system has been passed down for thousands of years. How can it be abolished just like that? If chastity arches were abolished, wouldn't the world be in chaos?"
Ultimately, it is still a matter of fighting for the right to speak and ensuring that the offspring are biological.
Xie Mingzhuo nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. Since these two systems are so excellent, we can't favor one over the other and be biased. Why not add a clause that allows women to divorce their husbands? And also give 'chastity arches' to men who never remarry after losing their wives? That would be fair."
“…”
"Why are you all silent?" Xie Mingzhuo feigned confusion. "Why aren't you fighting for such a good thing?"
"How can this be compared?"
Xie Mingzhuo: "Why not?"
"Princess, since ancient times, it has always been men who have guarded the territory and supported the country. Isn't it natural for men to be treated preferentially?"
Xie Mingzhuo was already a little impatient.
"You're wrong on two points. I wonder if you deliberately ignored women when reading history, or if the history book you read is not authentic. Has it really been true that there have only been men and no women since ancient times?
"If we trace back to the past, all the men you're talking about were born of women. Women should be the greatest, so how come you're referring to women as mere vassals? You look down on women so much that I doubt you're filial to your mother."
An unfilial person will be laughed at by the world. If he is really charged with the crime of "unfilial piety", losing his official hat is the least of his punishment. He may even be convicted and sentenced to prison.
The official who spoke hurriedly clarified and even said that he was extremely filial to his mother.
"If that's the case, the imperial court has issued a decree that benefits your mother, so why are you still trying so hard to stop it?"
Official: “…”
"I asked you to come up with some policies that would benefit and enrich the people, but you were like gourds with their mouths sawed off, unable to articulate a single idea for a long time. However, you were able to talk endlessly about how to gain power for yourselves. With such a lot of talk, the Ministry of Rites will take the lead. Together, you will revise the laws and draft and promulgate them as quickly as possible, as you just said. I want to see the results by the beginning of February."
Fan Wenxin frowned, and the other opponents could hardly hide their frustration.
The princess is really murderous.
It's a pity that the King of Qi and the King of Jin did not accept their gazes at all and had no interest in the throne, otherwise why would they be so passive?
At the beginning of February in the Renxu year, the imperial court revised the new law and announced it to the world.
Women have equal inheritance rights with men;
Husband and wife both have the right of inheritance, and the rule that "a widow must adopt a descendant of the family line to inherit her husband's property" is abolished;
The system of divorce was abolished. From now on, the couple could only negotiate or file a lawsuit with the government to dissolve the marriage.
Banning chastity arches and encouraging widows to remarry;
Allow women to have their own homes;
It is strictly forbidden for clans to abuse lynching, and if they violate the law, they will be severely punished.
As soon as the decree was issued, the whole country was in an uproar. The ones who jumped the most were those with vested interests. They wrote articles to criticize the court. They did not dare to criticize the princess openly, but only dared to use metaphors in their articles. Even the phrase "hen crows at dawn" appeared.
As the country's number one media tycoon, Xie Mingshuo would never allow these people to defile his younger sister. He praised the outstanding women throughout history in an all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging manner.
Just because there are few such records in history books doesn’t mean they don’t exist. If you dig deep you can find a lot.
The two sides were engaged in a fierce war of words in the newspapers. Most people had no real feelings about the new policy and were just watching for fun.
Only a few extremely pedantic people cannot stand the feeling of "lowering their status" and write articles every day to curse.
Fan Wenxin took sick leave and went home, never leaving the house.
Every day a newspaper was delivered to his study, he would curse and then pick up his pen to write.
A young girl walked in with tea and snacks, and couldn't help laughing when she saw the comments on the paper.
"Grandpa, if they knew that you were the leader of the supporters in the newspaper, they would probably be furious."
Fan Wenxin's pen name is "Old Man Wutong", which he chose randomly so that others would not associate it with him.
Old Man Wutong is very popular nowadays. As a member of the supporters, his writing is sharp and rigorous, and he is well-versed in ancient and modern times. He often silences the opposition and has become the most popular author after "Mr. Time and Space" and "Reporter Meng Shuo".
But in the court, he was a representative of the conservative faction.
"Niang Yuan, you are my only granddaughter, so I must make plans for you."
Fan Wenxin lost his wife when he was young, and his son and daughter-in-law when he was middle-aged, leaving only the infant Fan Yuan. He raised her personally and was always worried about her future.
The name "Yuan" was given because we hope that she can fly high into the sky and leap into the deep sea, and live freely in this world.
He couldn't bear to let her get married and suffer, and was worried that one day he would die and she would have no one to rely on, so he kept her at home until now, when she was twenty years old.
The older his granddaughter gets, the more he sighs.
His daughter Ayuan has been well-read since childhood and her talent is no less than any man, but she is trapped in her female body and cannot make a living with it.
Fan Wen was very upset and could not find a better solution. He had to take care of his health every day and strive to live longer.
However, after the princess entered politics, he saw an opportunity.
Opposing the princess in court was just a play played by the princess and him in order to win over the opposition and keep a close eye on their movements.
Concern overflowed from Fan Yuan's eyes. "Grandpa, I know you're fighting for my future. You're writing this yourself to dampen his arrogance, but please don't get angry and hurt yourself."
"I know, I know, but what these people say is really infuriating. How is my A Yuan inferior to those sour-smelling scholars? If my A Yuan could also take the imperial examination, why would they have the right to clamor?!"
The opposition said that all women in the world are inferior to men, so he directly brought his own granddaughter in.
Fan Yuan chuckled, "Then I won't bother you anymore, Grandpa. Please continue."
She returned to her room, took out the half-written manuscript from the drawer, and continued to spread the paper and grind the ink.
I don’t know whether the newspaper will publish her article.
【Author’s words】
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